November 3, 2025

CUP -v- Secretary of State for the Home Department (anonymity order)

Administrative Court High Court King's Bench Division Anonymity Order

Case number: AC-2025-LON-003521

In the High Court of Justice
King’s Bench Division
Administrative Court

In the matter of an application for judicial review

31 October 2025

Before:

Mr Alan Bates,
sitting as a Deputy Judge of the High Court

Between:

The King
on the application of
CUP

-v-

Secretary of State for the Home Department

Order

On an application by the Claimant dated 30 September 2025 (sealed by the Court on 13 October 2025) for: (1) an interim mandatory order; and (2) anonymisation

Following consideration of the documents lodged by the Claimant

ORDER BY MR. ALAN BATES
SITTING AS A DEPUTY JUDGE OF THE HIGH COURT

Anonymity:

(a) Pursuant to CPR 39.2(4) and/or the Court’s inherent jurisdiction and/or s. 6 of the Human Rights Act 1998:

(i) the Claimant’s name is to be withheld from the public and must not be disclosed in any proceedings in public; and

(ii) the Claimant is to be referred to orally and in writing as ”CUP”.

(b) Pursuant to CPR 5.4C(4):

(i) the parties must within 7 days file a redacted copy of any statement of case filed, omitting the name, address and any other information likely to lead to the identification of the Claimant;

(ii) if any statement of case subsequently filed includes information likely to lead to the identification of the Claimant, a redacted copy omitting that information must be filed at the same time;

(iii) unless the Court grants permission under CPR 5.4C(6), no non-party many obtain a copy of any unredacted statement of case.

Procedural directions:

(a) The Defendant’s Acknowledgement of Service (CPR 54.8) must be filed and served by 4pm on 7 November 2025.

(b) The Defendant must file its submissions to the Claimant’s application for an interim mandatory order by 4pm on 7 November 2025.

(c) Any Reply from the Claimant to the Defendant’s Acknowledgement of Service (CPR 54.8A) or to the Defendant’s submissions on the interim mandatory order application must be filed and served by 4pm on 14 November 2025.

(d) The papers are to be referred to judge for consideration of both (i) permission to apply for judicial review, and (ii) the Claimant’s application for an interim mandatory order, in the week commencing 17 November 2025.

REASONS

(1) Anonymity: The Claimant has received a positive Reasonable Grounds decision from the National Referral Mechanism and also claims to be a victim of sexual and domestic violence. Her history giving rise to post-traumatic stress is central to her claim that accommodation in a shared room, or outside the London area, would not be adequate for her. Given the extent to which the evidence in these proceedings is likely to address matters of an acutely personal and sensitive nature for the Claimant, I am satisfied that there is a risk of her suffering mental harm if those matters were referred to in open court, or were made accessible to the public, in conjunction with her name. Accordingly, the limited derogations from the principle of open justice in paragraph 1 of this Order are justified.

(2) Procedure: The Court Office, on 21 October 2025, invited the Defendant to provide her observations on the Claimant’s application for an interim mandatory order by 23 October 2025. No such observations have been received by the Court. Nevertheless, the circumstances of this case do not, in my view, justify granting immediately the interim mandatory order the Claimant seeks.

(3) Whilst I accept that the Claimant’s experiences (both recent and more historical) may mean that her current accommodation in a shared room is inadequate for her, she has been being accommodated in such accommodation for some time. Further, the interim mandatory order she seeks would require, not only that she be provided with her own room, but that the accommodation be in London. There may be good reasons, relating to the Claimant’s ability to continue accessing support services, why London accommodation would be advantageous for her, but it does not necessarily follow that there is a strong prima facie case that the Defendant would be acting unlawfully if she accommodated the Claimant in a single occupancy room anywhere outside London.

(4) In the circumstances, a fair balance between the interests at stake can, in my view, be struck by affording time for the Defendant to file her Acknowledgement of Service and, alongside it, any submissions in relation to interim relief. Both the question of permission to apply for judicial review, and the interim relief application, should be considered on the papers in the week commencing 17 November. In the meantime, the parties may be able to reach a pragmatic resolution between themselves (and I encourage them to do so).

Signed: DHCJ Alan Bates
Date: 31 October 2025